Immortal Refiner

Still reeling from the shock, Li Qing quickly realized that the dense demonic qi pouring from the void rift was being guided by someone!

”How is this possible?” he murmured, his brow furrowing as he sensed something was amiss.

Meanwhile, the Rakshasa Demon Lord, who had been looking rather disheveled, finally relaxed, his gaze shifting toward the Blood Spirit Sect’s mountain gate.

Deep within the sect’s grounds, the surging demonic qi was converging toward a specific location.

”It’s finally complete,” the Rakshasa Demon Lord thought, his eyes gleaming with undisguised delight. ”The demon realm’s invasion has conveniently provided the perfect opportunity.”

Li Qing hesitated briefly, confirming that no ancient demons were emerging from the void rift.

”Did your Blood Spirit Sect open this void rift without authorization?” he asked, his voice turning icy. ”This is a grave offense. Aren’t you afraid of making enemies of the entire world?”

Li Qing’s sharp gaze seemed to have uncovered a clue.

The sudden appearance of the void rift, yet without any ancient demons emerging, and the way the surging demonic qi was being guided—all pointed to something suspicious.

It was clear that the Blood Spirit Sect was behind this, likely using the demonic qi to cultivate some forbidden technique.

But the Rakshasa Demon Lord would never admit such a thing. He chuckled lightly, ”How could that be? The demon realm’s invasion of the Human Realm is an established fact, isn’t it?”

”It’s just that my Blood Spirit Sect was particularly unlucky, becoming the location of a void rift connecting to the demon realm. Look, our sect has suffered tremendous losses too—so many disciples and elders have died.”

Indeed, though the overwhelming demonic qi had been guided, it had still ravaged many Blood Spirit Sect disciples and elders along its path.

This demonic qi infusion acted like a deadly poison. Even a trace of it was enough to send low-level cultivators to the Yellow Springs.

Moreover, the sudden opening of the void rift had collapsed many Blood Spirit Sect structures, reducing them to rubble.

But Li Qing refused to believe the Rakshasa Demon Lord’s transparent excuses. His gaze grew colder as he said, ”Such ruthless hearts! You disregard even the lives of your own sect’s disciples and elders.”

”Do you not fear attracting the attention of ancient demons with this act, inviting your own destruction?”

The Rakshasa Demon Lord offered no further response, a cruel smile playing on his lips. He seemed utterly indifferent to the lives of his sect’s disciples and elders.

The demonic path truly operates without restraint, Li Qing thought. They’ll stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Even if it meant the wholesale slaughter of their own sect members, they wouldn’t hesitate.

Just then, a powerful aura erupted from within the Blood Spirit Sect’s mountain gate, as if someone was attempting a breakthrough.

In mere moments, the aura surged to the peak of the core formation realm, then shattered the barrier without resistance, surging into the nascent soul realm!

Li Qing’s expression shifted slightly, his eyes widening with shock.

His keen senses confirmed it: someone had effortlessly ascended from the core formation realm to the nascent soul realm.

Moreover, the aura continued to intensify, rapidly approaching the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

This was utterly astonishing. Even Li Qing felt his scalp tingle. Such a cultivation speed was unheard of, defying all reason.

Finally, the aura stabilized at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, ceasing its absurdly rapid ascent.

Even so, Li Qing’s inner turmoil remained unshaken.

He felt that his years of relentless cultivation and effort paled in comparison to the aura he had sensed just now.

”How could someone advance from the core formation realm to the mid-Nascent Soul stage in such a ridiculously short time?”

Even the most heaven-defying demonic path cultivation techniques he had ever heard of couldn’t possibly achieve such an absurd feat.

Soon, a maniacal burst of laughter echoed through the air:

”Hahahaha! My demonic body is complete! This secret technique is truly extraordinary! By infusing my body with primordial demonic qi, I have actually undergone a metamorphosis into an ancient demon!”

As the laughter subsided, a colossal figure suddenly emerged.

The figure was pitch-black, almost devoid of human features, its body swollen to the size of a small giant.

Most striking were the jagged bone spikes erupting from its spine, still dripping with dark purple fluid—presumably its blood.

Gazing at this small giant wreathed in churning demonic qi, Li Qing sensed its overwhelming power, almost identical to that of the ancient demonic race he had encountered before.

”Shaotian, what have you become? Can’t you change back?” The Rakshasa Demon Lord, who had initially appeared pleased, now frowned deeply.

This man was none other than Meng Shaotian, the young sect master of the Blood Spirit Sect, whose daoist name was True Lord Xue Tian. Perhaps he should now be called Demon Lord Xue Tian instead.

Demon Lord Xue Tian roared with laughter. ”Patriarch, isn’t this better?”

”I feel like I have inexhaustible power, and my vitality is boundless!”

”And my lifespan! I believe I can live for at least three or four thousand years. If I could reach the demon realm and undergo further primordial demonic qi infusion, transforming my body completely into an ancient demon’s physique, I could easily live for over ten thousand years!”

”Hahahaha! Ten thousand years of lifespan! Hahahaha! What are we waiting for, Patriarch Rakshasa?”

”Now that the demon realm has opened wide, we can ascend there effortlessly. Why suffer in the Human Realm with these frail, fleshly bodies?”

Hearing these words, Li Qing finally understood.

It seemed the opportunity the Blood Spirit Sect’s young master had obtained from the secret chamber hidden within the mysterious cave abode was a secret technique that allowed one to undergo primordial demonic qi infusion, transforming their fleshly body into an ancient demon’s physique.

Once transformed into an ancient demon, one’s strength would surge dramatically, and their physical resilience would become terrifyingly formidable, surpassing even demon beasts of the same cultivation realm!

Moreover, ancient demons possessed lifespans far exceeding those of humans. A nascent soul realm ancient demon could potentially live for over five thousand years.

And this was only in the lower realm. In the demon realm, where primordial demonic qi was abundant, a nascent soul realm ancient demon could even enjoy a lifespan approaching ten thousand years.

Despite these apparent advantages, Li Qing noticed Rakshasa Demon Lord’s brow remained deeply furrowed. He pressed further, ”Has your Sea of Consciousness been affected by the primordial demonic qi? What about the Mind-Awakening Stone? Why didn’t it protect your divine soul’s clarity?!”

The Blood Spirit Sect’s young master erupted into another bout of maniacal laughter, clearly suffering from mental instability and a complete personality shift.

”Hahahaha, Patriarch Rakshasa! That Mind-Awakening Stone has been stored in that secret chamber for countless millennia. Its spirituality has long since deteriorated.”

”Rather than relying on that flawed stone, I chose a complete immersion. I allowed the primordial demonic qi to thoroughly saturate my entire being. See? I’m perfectly fine now!”

”Patriarch Rakshasa, are you wary of that cultivator beside you? Fear not! I’ll slaughter him for you right now, then serve as your guardian during your own demonic qi infusion!”

With those words, Demon Lord Xue Tian turned his gaze toward Li Qing, his eyes burning with intense madness.

In the next instant, demonic qi surged through the sky as Demon Lord Xue Tian charged toward Li Qing.

Boom!

Li Qing’s brow furrowed slightly, but he effortlessly sidestepped the attack.

Undeterred by the missed strike, Demon Lord Xue Tian remained undaunted. True to his earlier boast, he seemed to possess inexhaustible power, feeling himself in peak condition.

”Hahaha! All you can do is dodge? Just wait until I catch you—I’ll personally flay you alive!”

A chase ensued across the heavens and earth.

Li Qing didn’t immediately retaliate, choosing instead to observe the Demon Lord Xue Tian after his demonic qi infusion, seeking to understand what had changed.

After a while, Li Qing realized that the Demon Lord’s fleshly body strength was indeed unparalleled, surpassing even that of ordinary Transformed Demon Kings.

However, his combat style lacked any discernible technique, his moves crude and rudimentary.

Has he only recently attained an ancient demon’s form and hasn’t yet mastered the corresponding daoist arts and divine abilities? Li Qing mused inwardly, deciding he’d had enough of this game.

The void rift connecting to the demon realm remained open, and there was no guarantee that ancient demons wouldn’t descend through it into the lower realm.

Although the demon realm was said to be vast and boundless, and this void rift might go unnoticed by the ancient demons, the risk remained.

Given the current precarious situation, who could predict what methods the great powers of the demon realm on the other side of the rift might employ?

With this thought, Li Qing resolved to hold nothing back. He erupted into action, simultaneously activating the three heavenly spirit fires within his body.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tri-colored spirit flames exploded continuously, transforming into a meteor shower of fire that rained down upon Demon Lord Xue Tian.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

The massive spirit fire assault moved with such speed that even Demon Lord Xue Tian couldn’t evade it entirely. The spiritual flames that struck his demonic body burned away significant amounts of demonic qi.

The spirit fire is effective!

”Roar! Die!”

Demon Lord Xue Tian grew even more frenzied, his eyes glowing crimson as blood. Demonic qi surged from his body, engulfing the area around Li Qing.

Meanwhile, the fire meteors Li Qing had unleashed earlier, which had missed Demon Lord Xue Tian, struck the ground, forming an intricate network of array patterns.

The Rakshasa Demon Lord, who had been observing the battle, finally sensed something amiss. He resolved to join forces with Demon Lord Xue Tian and eliminate Li Qing first.

Buzz!

Blood qi suddenly surged across the sky, coalescing into a crimson halberd.

This was the Rakshasa Demon Lord’s natal magic treasure, a renowned artifact in the Great Wilderness Domain. It had been refined using the Blood Spirit Sect’s inherited cultivation manual.

Life-Severing Halberd, Blood Shatters Nine Kills!

Boom!

Several crimson halberd projections streaked across the sky, cleaving through the vast expanse as if severing the heavens themselves.

Sensing the lethal threat, Li Qing’s eyes narrowed, two fiery sparks igniting within his pitch-black pupils.

Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation!

In an instant, the surrounding heaven and earth were sealed by the fiery formation, scorching heat sweeping outward.

Heaven-Earth Spirit Flames erupted, surging forth like fiery dragons.

”Burn the heavens, refine the demons!” Li Qing roared, forming a hand seal and pointing at Demon Lord Xue Tian, who was trapped within the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation.

Countless fiery dragons surged forth, and Demon Lord Xue Tian screamed in agony:

”Aaaah!”

Massive quantities of black demonic qi were forced out of his body. His giant-like demonic body began to twist grotesquely, as if suffering grievous wounds.

Heavenly spirit fire, being inherently yang and righteous, proved remarkably effective against ancient demons, much like the Pure Yang Physique.

Outside the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation, the crimson halberd’s shadow finally crashed down.

However, the formation had sealed off heaven and earth, becoming a self-contained entity. These repeated strikes only caused the entire Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation to tremble.

Seizing this opportunity, Li Qing intensified his refinement of Demon Lord Xue Tian, this half-baked ancient demon. He frantically channeled his vast mana, accelerating the process.

Before long, under the simultaneous refinement of three heavenly spirit fires, Demon Lord Xue Tian’s demonic body shriveled like a deflated balloon, becoming utterly emaciated.

Without hesitation, Li Qing condensed fire into a blade, his fingers forming a knife-like gesture. With a swift and decisive motion, he severed the newly formed demonic body, ending its existence.

As the spirit fires surged, the remaining demonic qi was completely purified, vanishing within the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation.

The Demon Lord Xue Tian, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, had been effortlessly slain!

Outside the formation, the Rakshasa Demon Lord’s face darkened, his expression turning exceedingly grim.

But Li Qing remained unfazed by his animosity. In fact, he planned to press his advantage and eliminate this already-offended Rakshasa Demon Lord right here and now.

Although the heaven and earth were about to face the calamity of the demon realm’s invasion, and internal strife like killing fellow nascent soul cultivators was highly undesirable, Li Qing couldn’t afford such considerations.

Having already completely antagonized his opponent, he might as well finish the job thoroughly to eliminate future threats and prevent a millennium of lingering consequences.

”At worst, I’ll slay a few more ancient demons in the future,” Li Qing murmured to himself. ”That should be enough to repay this world.”

With a thought, he deactivated the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation’s seal, his decision made.

A flicker of divine sense summoned a pair of silver-purple bone wings behind him.

The moment these wings materialized, the Wind Thunder Primordial Energy in the surrounding heaven and earth began to surge uncontrollably.

But before Li Qing could act, an ancient aura suddenly emanated from the still-open void rift.

Thump... thump...

Li Qing felt as if a giant hand had seized his heart, making even a normal heartbeat excruciatingly difficult.

Terrifying! Utterly terrifying! Absolutely insurmountable!

Behind the void rift within the Blood Spirit Sect’s Mountain Gate, an extraordinary entity had appeared, seemingly peering into this world.

Even the slightest wisp of its leaked aura caused the void rift to tremble violently, threatening to collapse into extreme instability.

”Damn it, a big one’s here!”

Li Qing’s eyelids twitched violently. He instantly suppressed all killing intent and activated the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings on his back, fleeing the area at breakneck speed.

A hurricane surged, and lightning flashed.

In the blink of an eye, after expending a massive amount of mana, Li Qing’s figure materialized ten thousand miles away.

Still feeling uneasy, he continued to flap the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, putting even more distance between himself and the Blood Spirit Sect’s Mountain Gate.

Meanwhile, behind the void rift, an even denser torrent of primordial demonic qi poured forth, transforming the surrounding thousand-mile radius into a desolate expanse of demonic soil.

A voice speaking in strange, ancient demonic language echoed through the air:

”Hmm... they’ve actually opened a void rift themselves?”

”Then we’ll invade from here. Complete the Formless Saint Ancestor’s sacred decree as quickly as possible.”

(End of the Chapter)

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